Face Masks during COVID-19. Tips and tutorials

ESPAÑOL DEBAJO

When and how to use masks during Coronavirus(COVID-19)

According to the WHO, if you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if:

• you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.

• if you are coughing or sneezing.

Beyond WHO recommendations, health authorities in some countries are expected to reverse its previous stance and officially recommend that people cover their faces in public.

Let's not forget that in the COVID-19 pandemic there is the case of people who are ill without knowing it because they have no symptoms. These people also infect others despite having no symptoms.

How to wear a mask according o WHO

If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose it properly. Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

• Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

• Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

• Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

• Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.

• To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Please check your own countrie's regulations on official sites. Some countries are starting to make masks obligatory.

This are the two countries where we live: Germany and Argentina. This is the offical Q&A page from Robert-Koch-Institut in Germany, where you can read recommendation specifically about the use of masks (in German).

This is the official information for Argentina, from the Health Ministery. (In spanish)

Why to make your own mask

As health proffesional and hospitals struggle to find enough surgical and N95 masks, it’s clear that medically certified masks should go to frontline workers. Other masks on the market should go to people working in essential businesses (bus drivers, security officers, warehouse and grocery staff).

For the rest of us, a homemade mask is a good option -especially since in some countries health authorities are expected to reverse its previous stance and officially recommend that people cover their faces in public. This shift may come, in part, because of new evidence suggesting that the coronavirus might spread through the air and that people with no symptoms may carry the virus, possibly infecting others. Source: Fast Company

Tutorials

We have collected tutorials we find simple and easy to follow to produce your own masks with materials you can find at home. Please be aware that this masks are not for professional or medical use.

Please remember that no homemade mask can guarantee that you won’t become infected with the #coronavirus, but studies have found that any facial protection can reduce your exposure to viruses compared with nothing at all. Source: Fast Company

Materials & Filters

Designer, musician & upcycler Lisa Simpson together with Bia Farão have created a beautiful site called maskeradebrigade.com where they teach how to make and wear masks from recycled materials. Here is the video:

As they inform, "cotton is a better fabric than others (whether stretch or not, and denim, whih is also made from cotton), because it allows us to breathe while wearing the mask. Polyester or other less breathable fabrics will not work as well, due to the moisture produced with breathing.

They also advice that "it is VERY IMPORTANT to wash the fabric at 90°C before you start making the masks, after you finish making it, and after each use. You can boil the mask in a pot with water for 5 minutes or more if you prefer not to run a high temperature cycle on your washing machine"

The girls offer a pattern with an opening at the top so you can put a filter between the fabrics. They give advice on which materials you can find at home to use as filter: "research shows that a DIY filter can be made from two layers of paper towels and one layer of tissue paper".

Tutorial #2 - Mask made from a T-shirt. No sewing machine needed

Tutorial #3 - MASK WITH FILTER POCKET AND ADJUSTABLE WIRE Sewing machine and some sewing skills needed

Tutorial #4 - With sewing patterns

As masks are in short supply, thanks to Lebenskleidung from Berlin and to Pinkponilosewing studio in Budapest who have created a precise pattern and sewing instructions, we share this information with you here. Sewing Pattern Pattern with Sizes Sewing Instructions Remember that these masks are not the ones that protect us bur others and that washing your hands often with soap, using hydroalcoholic solutions, keeping the safety distance of more than a meter as well as not touching your face, is essential at this time.

Source: Slow Fashion Next (under this link you will find more information on how to make, wear and use PPE such as masks and robes, in Spanish!)

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Mascarillas durante COVID-19. Consejos y tutoriales

Cuándo y cómo usar máscaras durante la enfermedad por Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Según la OMS, si estás sano, sólo necesitas usar una máscara si:   -Estás cuidando a una persona con sospecha de infección 2019-nCoV. - Tienes tos o estornudos frecuentes.

Más allá de las recomendaciones de la OMS, se espera que las autoridades de salud de algunos países reviertan su postura anterior y recomienden oficialmente que las personas se cubran el rostro en público.

No olvidemos que en la pandemia de COVID-19 existe el caso de las personas que están enfermas sin saberlo porque no tienen síntomas. Estas personas, también contagian a otras a pesar de no tener síntomas.

Cómo usar un barbijo según la OMS Si usas un barbijo, debes saber cómo usarlo y desecharlo adecuadamente. Las máscaras o barbijos son efectivos sólo cuando se usan en combinación con la limpieza frecuente de las manos con un desinfectante para manos a base de alcohol o agua y jabón. Antes de ponerte una máscara, lávate las manos con un desinfectante para manos a base de alcohol o agua y jabón. Cubre la boca y la nariz y asegúrete de que no haya espacios entre tu cara y la máscara.

Evita tocar la máscara mientras la usas; si lo haces, lávate las manos con un desinfectante para manos a base de alcohol o agua y jabón.

Reemplaza la máscara con una nueva tan pronto como esté húmeda y no reutilices nunca las máscaras descartables. Para quitar la máscara: quítela por detrás (no toques el frente de la máscara), desechar inmediatamente en un contenedor cerrado. Lávate las manos con un desinfectante para manos a base de alcohol o agua y jabón.

Por favor revisa las regulaciones de tu propio país en los sitios oficiales. Algunos países están comenzando a hablar de hacer que el uso de las máscarillas sea obligatorio. Esta es la información oficial para Argentina, del Ministerio de Salud. ¿Por qué hacer tu propia máscara? A medida que los profesionales de la salud y los hospitales luchan por encontrar suficientes máscaras quirúrgicas y N95, está claro que las máscaras médicamente certificadas deben ir a los trabajadores de primera línea.

Otras máscaras en el mercado deben ir a personas que trabajan en negocios esenciales (conductores de autobuses, oficiales de seguridad, personal de almacenes y supermercados).

Para el resto de nosotros, una máscara casera es una buena opción, especialmente porque en algunos países se espera que las autoridades de salud reviertan su postura anterior y recomienden oficialmente que las personas se cubran la cara en público. Este cambio puede venir, en parte, debido a la nueva evidencia que sugiere que el coronavirus podría propagarse por el aire y que las personas sin síntomas pueden portar el virus, posiblemente infectando a otros.

Fuente: Fast Company

Tutoriales Hemos recopilado algunos tutoriales que encontramos simples y fáciles de seguir para producir tus propias máscaras con materiales que podés tener en casa. Tené en cuenta que estas máscaras no son para uso médico. Para eso es obligatorio usar las máscaras aprobadas.

Recuerda que ninguna máscara casera puede garantizar que no te infectes con el #coronavirus